What are Medicare Health Plans?
Medicare health plans provide different ways to get your health
care coverage in the Medicare program. The Medicare health plan that
you choose affects many things like cost, benefits, doctor choice,
convenience, and quality. Your Medicare health plan choices include:
-
The Original Medicare Plan - Available nationwide. If you get
your health care from the Original Medicare Plan, you use your
red, white, and blue Medicare card to get your health care. The
Original Medicare Plan pays for many health care services and
supplies, but it doesn’t pay all of your health care costs. There
are costs that you must pay, like coinsurance, copayments, and
deductibles. These costs are called “gaps” in Medicare coverage.
You might want to consider buying a Medigap policy to cover these
gaps in Medicare coverage.
-
Medicare Advantage (formerly Medicare + Choice) Plans -
Available in many areas. If you have one of these plans, you don’t
need a Medigap policy. Medicare Advantage Plans include:
If you decide to join a Medicare Advantage Plan, then you will use
the health care card that you get from your Medicare Advantage
Plan (provider) for your health care. These plans often give you
more choices and, sometimes, extra benefits, like extra days in
the hospital.
To join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you must have Medicare Part A
and Part B. You will have to pay the monthly Medicare Part B
premium of $96.40 in 2008 to Medicare. In addition, you
might have
to pay a monthly premium to your Medicare Advantage Plan for the
extra benefits that they offer.
If you’re in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you don’t need a Medigap
policy because Medicare Advantage Plans generally cover many of
the same benefits that a Medigap policy would cover, like extra
days in the hospital after you used the number of days that
Medicare pays for.
Medicare has:
Part A Hospital Insurance - Most people
don’t pay a premium for Part A because they or a spouse
already paid for it through their payroll taxes while
working. Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) helps cover
inpatient care in hospitals, including critical access
hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities (not custodial
or long-term care). It also helps cover hospice care and
some home health care. Beneficiaries must meet certain
conditions to get these benefits.
Part B Medical Insurance - Most people pay a
monthly premium for Part B. Medicare Part B (Medical
Insurance) helps cover doctors’ services and outpatient
care. It also covers some other medical services that Part
A doesn’t cover, such as some of the services of physical
and
occupational therapists, and some home health care.
Part B helps pay for these covered services
and supplies
when they are medically necessary.
Prescription Drug Coverage - Most people
will pay a monthly premium for this coverage.
Starting
January 1, 2006, new Medicare prescription drug coverage
will be available to everyone with Medicare. Everyone with
Medicare can get this coverage that may help lower
prescription drug costs and help protect against higher
costs in the future. Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
is insurance. Private companies provide the coverage.
Beneficiaries choose the drug plan and pay a monthly
premium. Like other insurance, if a beneficiary decides
not to enroll in a drug plan when
they are first eligible,
they may pay a penalty if they choose to join later.
The Medicare health plan that you choose affects many things like
cost, benefits, doctor choice, convenience, and quality. To compare
your Medicare health plan choices, please call our toll free number
or
Complete
our Medicare Information Request Form.
Help Paying for Health Care Costs
There are wide ranges of health care coverage choices that may
help pay for some of your health care costs. These health care
choices work with the benefits you have from Medicare. What you
choose will affect
how much you pay, what benefits you have, which
doctors you can see, and other things that may be important to you.
If you have questions call our Toll Free Number
@ 888.995.2821. |
